A Busy Week of Research

This week has flown by for the Edinburgh Genealogy Tour. The group has had four full days of research. Two full days at the ScotlandsPeople Centre where they have been able to find Old Parish Registers, Statutory birth, marriage and death records, census rolls and valuation rolls. As well they have been able to consult the Kirk Session records to determine paternity, discover illegitimacy and learn about other immoral behaviours. 

The group has also had two full days at the National Library. Some participants have been able to see exactly where their ancestors lived on the maps that were consulted. Everyone learned about the phenomenal variety of records available for family history research and others were able to look through the Sutherland Estate records. 

A few of the participants went to the Glasgow City Archives on Saturday and were amazed at the depth of information that they found on their Glasgow ancestors. Cemetery and Lair records, Trades records, City Directories and Poor Law records. 

A few participants traveled to the part of Scotland where their ancestor lived and were delighted to be able to walk the streets, visit cemeteries or research in local family history societies. 

Yet others took the time to enjoy the amazing sights, history and culture of Edinburgh. 

We have one full day of research left at the ScotlandsPeople Centre tomorrow after which we will get the chance to indulge in our Scottish heritage at the Taste of Scotland Show. 

Then it will be time to say goodbye as we prepare to return home with certificates, books, maps, photographs and fond memories. 

There is ONE space left for the spring 2018 Genealogy Tour to Scotland. No fall tours will be offered in 2018. 

Here's your chance: 

Historic Edinburgh Tour of Victorian Slums of Edinburgh

Robert led us on another brilliant tour of Old Edinburgh last night, this time focusing on the slum areas of the old town.

We started with an overview of poverty while standing in the Kirkyard of Greyfriar's

Then we walked over to the next alley where we were introduced to Edinburgh's Poor House

From the Poorhouse, we walked to the Vennel to see the Telfer Wall. On the way, we heard about the Royal Infirmary, cholera outbreaks and diseases of the poor. 

From the Vennel we came to Grassmarket and learned about different forms of lodging. All agreed we did not want the 2p option of hanging over a rope to sleep (sometimes referred to as a "four penny coffin". )

From Grassmarket we were off to the Cowgate - one of the poorest parts of Old Edinburgh

The lives of our ancestors were difficult times. Poverty was rampant in Scotland and for many their daily existence was centered around survival and making enough to be able to eat and cover their shelter costs. We really do need to be grateful to them for the stamina, the fortitude and their amazing courage. For without that, none of us would be here today. 

Thank you, Robert and Historic Edinburgh Tours for another incredibly informative tour. 

Last Minute Opening for Sept 2017 Genealogy Tour

Due to a last minute cancellation, there is an opening for the September Genealogy Tour. This tour takes place in Edinburgh and includes three full days of research at the ScotlandsPeople Centre and two full days at the National Library.

The weekend is free for you to visit the part of Scotland where your ancestors lived. The Monday following the weekend is open to allow you to do local research in the archives or Family History Society where your ancestor lived.

The Monday, if not researching locally allows you time to go to the Scottish Genealogy Society, or to return to the National Library, ScotlandsPeople or the National Archives.

If  you are interested in researching your Scottish ancestors onsite in Scotland, don't miss out

Book this unexpected opening before anyone else does!

The Edinburgh Research Begins

The Edinburgh group spent their first day of research at the ScotlandsPeople Centre. 

The day began with an overview of the records and the computer system by Centre Manager, Iain Ferguson. 

After the talk, we were down to the computers and the digging for ancestors began. 

The Edinburgh Research Begins

The Edinburgh group spent their first day of research at the ScotlandsPeople Centre. 

The day began with an overview of the records and the computer system by Centre Manager, Iain Ferguson. 

After the talk, we were down to the computers and the digging for ancestors began. 

SCOTSMAN Newspaper Archives Added to Findmypast!

Great news for those researching their Scottish Ancestors! The Scotsman Archives have been added to Findmypast and are available as part of your Premium subscription. 

The Scotsman was founded in 1817 as a weekly newspaper. In 1850, it became a daily newspaper, becoming Scotland's National Newspaper in 1873. 

The Scotsman has had a digital archive online for quite some time. But there has been a fairly hefty subscription fee. The addition of the Scotsman to the British Newspaper Archive is a welcome one for those of us researching our Scottish ancestry. 

What are you waiting for? Log in and start searching!

http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search/british-newspapers

Updates to the ScotlandsPeople Website

Since the launch of the new website, ScotlandsPeople has been fraught with challenges and outages that have caused a great deal of anxiety. Work behind the scenes continues to make changes that have been identified as challenging or ineffective. ScotlandsPeople keeps their consumers up to date with alerts and updates about what they have been working on. Here's the latest: 

https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/what-we-are-working-on

We continue to be promised that the Kirk Session records will be coming online. Long overdue as many of us have been waiting in excess of five years for them to finally be launched. 

The website says "other court records" which will be a wonderful addition to family history researchers. Hopefully the wait for them will be far less than the wait for Kirk Session Records.

What would be really, really nice would be the launch of the 1939 Register so that those with Scottish ancestors can be as fortunate as those with ancestors in other parts of Great Britain and be able to access the Register online. 

They say "good things come to those who wait" Hopefully the wait will be in our lifetimes and won't be our descendants looking for us.